Jharkhand coach blames wicket for Dhoni's below par show

Jharkhand coach Rajiv Kumar on Friday blamed the Jadavpur University second campus wicket, saying skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni could not have done much as they succumbed to a 21-run loss to Hyderabad in a Group D Vijay Hazare cricket tie here.

"He could not have done much. There was little time to react. It was a good length ball that stayed low and skidded on to the stumps. It was his bad luck," Kumar told reporters after the former India captain scored a 47-ball 28 in which he took 20 deliveries to hit a boundary.

Jharkhand are now running against the tide after their latest defeat which saw a fine century by Saurabh Tiwary (102 off 104) go in vain.

Praising Dhoni's leadership which helped the team restrict Hyderabad to 203/8 in 50 overs, coach Kumar said, "Here we could restrict them for 200-odd. There's an overall improvement but wicket has been difficult, we have not been successful to adapt quickly."

"He (Dhoni) has seen situations like no one else here. Nobody knows to finish a game better than him. His presence is a big boost for the side. In Kalyani we lost three but Jaggi and Saurabh finished the game. It's a big learning experience for all of us."

Kumar added that Dhoni spoke to the teammates for a long time after the game and they are confident of a late push for the last eight stage.

"He had a good chat with the team. He told us what are the areas of weakness we need to work as a team," he added.

--IANS

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